Estrela Neto (PhD in Neurosciences, 2017) is an Assistant Researcher at the NeuroSkeletal Circuits (NeSk) group at i3S, where she leads the SensyChips team. Her research lies at the interface of neuroskeletal biology and cancer neuroscience, with a focus on developing advanced in vitro models to study sensory innervation of the bone microenvironment in inflammatory and metastatic disease contexts.
She holds a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Porto (FCUP/ICBAS, 2008) and an MSc in Biomedical Engineering from FEUP (2010). Her research career began at INEB within the Neuro-osteogenesis team, and during her PhD in Neurosciences at FMUP she focused on interactions between the peripheral nervous system and bone, establishing the foundation for her current work on microengineered systems and cell–cell communication.
Estrela is the author of over 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and several conference publications. She is actively involved in national and international research projects, student supervision, and peer-review activities, and maintains collaborative links within European research networks.
Selected Publications
Deciphering cartilage neuro-immune interactions and innervation profile through 3D engineered osteoarthritic micropathophysiological system. Materials Today Bio31:, 2025. [Journal: Article] [CI: 4] [IF: 10.2 (*)]
DOI: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2025.101491 SCOPUS: 85214926460
Neto E., Monteiro A.C., Leite Pereira C., Simões M., Conde J.P., Chu V., Sarmento B., Lamghari M.
Micropathological Chip Modeling the Neurovascular Unit Response to Inflammatory Bone Condition. Advanced Healthcare Materials11(11):, 2022. [Journal: Article] [CI: 35] [IF: 10]
DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202102305 SCOPUS: 85125234828
Neto E., Leitão L., Mateus J.C., Sousa D.M., Alves C.J., Aroso M., Monteiro A.C., Conceição F., Oreffo R.O.C., West J., Aguiar P., Lamghari M.
Osteoclast-derived extracellular vesicles are implicated in sensory neurons sprouting through the activation of epidermal growth factor signaling. Cell and Bioscience12(1):, 2022. [Journal: Article] [CI: 11] [IF: 7,5]
DOI: 10.1186/s13578-022-00864-w SCOPUS: 85135937935
Neto E., Alves C.J., Sousa D.M., Alencastre I.S., Lourenço A.H., Leitão L., Ryu H.R., Jeon N.L., Fernandes R., Aguiar P., Almeida R.D., Lamghari M.
Sensory neurons and osteoblasts: Close partners in a microfluidic platform. Integrative biology : quantitative biosciences from nano to macro6(6):586-595, 2014. [Journal: Article] [CI: 54] [IF: 3,8]
DOI: 10.1039/c4ib00035h SCOPUS: 84901624359
Leitão L., Neto E., Conceição F., Monteiro A., Couto M., Alves C.J., Sousa D.M., Lamghari M.
Osteoblasts are inherently programmed to repel sensory innervation. Bone Research8(1):, 2020. [Journal: Article] [CI: 27] [IF: 13,6]
DOI: 10.1038/s41413-020-0096-1 SCOPUS: 85084588982
Ribeiro P., Leitão L., Monteiro A.C., Bortolin A., Moura B., Lamghari M., Neto E.
Microfluidic-based models to address the bone marrow metastatic niche complexity. Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology112:27-36, 2021. [Journal: Review] [CI: 1] [IF: 7,5]
DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2020.05.015 SCOPUS: 85085951424
Neto E., Leitão L., Sousa D.M., Alves C.J., Alencastre I.S., Aguiar P., Lamghari M.
Compartmentalized microfluidic platforms: The unrivaled breakthrough of in vitro tools for neurobiological research. Journal of Neuroscience36(46):11573-11584, 2016. [Journal: Article] [CI: 97] [IF: 6]
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1748-16.2016 SCOPUS: 84996552043
